Michigan State basketball has been a yearly contender for the NCAA tournament under Tom Izzo, and this year hasn’t been much different. However, for the better part of the past five seasons, things haven’t been as easy around East Lansing. The Spartans have lacked the toughness and rebounding ability that have made Izzo’s teams famous. Sure, this year’s squad has been much better at it, but they have a whole different issue instead . It is going to likely cost them come March.
Michigan State has always had good shooters, but for whatever reason the 2024-25 team has been less than spectacular, especially from beyond the arc. Their remaining schedule is not a cakewalk, as they have a bulk of the best teams in the Big Ten still left to play. The consistent lack of three-point shooting has been hard to watch in some cases. One thing is for sure, if they can’t up their shooting percentage from outside, then they are in trouble.
Michigan State Basketball Limited by Three-Point Shooting
The team itself isn’t lacking in talented players, especially those who came to East Lansing known as shooters. They have the personnel, but their best shooters aren’t making shots at this point. Senior captain Jaden Akins has always had a good stroke from the outside. You’re talking about a guy who has shot at least 36 percent or better for his first three collegiate seasons. This season, he’s shooting less than 30 percent from the three-point line. I’m not sure what the deal is, but that’s a major drop-off for the leading scorer on the team.
Tre Holloman has shown he can make the deep shots as well, but he’s missed plenty of wide-open looks from deep this season. It’s quite remarkable that they have won 19 games, given the poor shooting from the outside. The fact that Michigan State brought in Frankie Fidler from the transfer portal in the offseason, and he’s only made nine three-pointers so far this season isn’t what was expected. That’s not good at all, especially when he made 52 last season at Nebraska-Omaha. Fidler’s production from deep has been a major disappointment.
February Slide Feels Worse Than Usual
The Spartans have famously experienced a bit of slide in February nearly every year under Izzo, it seems to be a tradition but looking back at how good they were playing up until their trip to Los Angeles, this slide feels much worse. You’re talking about a team that won 13 straight games from the end of November until the start of this month. That was impressive.
They have since lost three of four games, including their most recent at home against an underachieving Indiana team. The Hoosiers used a zone defense, forcing the Spartans to shoot from outside, and they couldn’t hit the needed shots. They finished 4-23 from deep, and that’s not going to cut it. Now they visit Illinois, who should be fired up after losing the first meeting by just two.
Michigan State has lost three of four and their three point struggles might finally be catching up to them.
Losses @ UCLA, @ USC, and at home vs Indiana. USC and Inidana most likely will not be in the tournament.
Sparty shooting 13-40 from deep in those losses (32.5%).
MSU is… pic.twitter.com/35OVzh29LW
— Ryan Coyle (@ryancoyle35) February 12, 2025
The Spartans better come out with some energy and find a way to make some shots. It’s pretty unacceptable at this point in the season for them to have not figured out their shooting. They are ranked #354 in the country in three-point shooting percentage according to TeamRankings.com. That is simply terrible and doesn’t sound like Michigan State basketball at all.
It’s quite baffling that they are that bad at three-point shooting. The final seven games for Michigan State are arguably the toughest in the Big Ten, maybe even the country. Good luck the rest of the way. The secret is out, the Spartans can’t shoot.
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